This morning as I was listening to music on my iPod the song Trust in Jesus came on and I started to think about standing before God’s judgment throne. Paul confirmed what is written all throughout the Old Testament, that everyone, even Christians, will face God’s judgment.

For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.'”

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Romans 14:11-12 (NIV).

It occurred to me that as much as I appreciate what Jesus has done for me now, it will only be as I face the judgment throne of God that I will be able to fully appreciate the magnitude of His grace. Just as Solomon did, “I thought in my heart, ‘God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.'” Ecclesiastes 3:17 (NIV). Perhaps it is to fulfill His promise to bring us great joy and blessing that God will reveal, at the end of our days, how much He truly loves us. Only by revealing our great need for His redemption can He make us understand.

Before the Throne

I stand before the throne of God
He opens His book to my list of sins
His messenger begins to read
my transgressions, one by one

In my mind I begin to prepare
my defense, my justification for each sin
I think I am ready to answer
to show that I deserve mercy

The list goes on and on and on
Will it ever end?
My justifications begin to fade
My heart grows weak with shame

How can I stand before His throne
the judgment throne of the Almighty
I tremble in fear of His wrath, His righteous judgment
I know it will destroy me, I cannot stand

I fall to my knees before His throne

I bow my head knowing His judgment is true
Realizing I have no defense
I have broken every commandment, every law
without a single justification

Suddenly before the throne
between me and God’s final judgment
Stands the One who came to save me
His mercy and grace pour over me

I remember with great joy
that while I was yet a sinner
He loved me, He redeemed my soul
I trusted in Him and He is faithful to forgive

Before the throne of judgment and grace
I lift my voice in praise and adoration
Finally understanding completely
What His great love has accomplished

Okay, I just couldn’t leave yesterday as my only post about the Third Day concert I went to on Saturday. It was so much fun and I had an awesome time, and so I decided for My Tuesday Three to share three great things about the concert.

The first great thing I want to share is that Third Day sang one of my favorite songs and I got it on video. Here’s my video of “Trust in Jesus” posted on YouTube.

I love how Mac Powell starts this song when he says, “This is a little ditty about the end times and judgment day.” He was kind of making a joke, but also being very serious. We will all face judgment before the throne of God. When we do, we have two choices. First, we can stand before Him on our own merits and say, “Okay, God, I’ve tried my best and I think I’ve done pretty good. I went to church, I didn’t steal or murder anyone, and I tried to be nice to everyone I met.” Second, we can say, “I trust in Jesus, because I know I’ve sinned and not all of my good deeds could ever make up for what I’ve done.” I’ve decided I’ll go with the latter option, and this song is a wonderful reminder of the choice I have made.

What are you going to do when your time has come
And your life is done and there’s nothing you can stand on
What will you have to say at the judgment throne
I already know the only thing that I can say I

There’s nothing I can do on my own to find forgiveness
It’s by His grace alone I trust in Jesus
Trust in Jesu

The second great thing I want to share is that the weather was awesome! It was a beautiful sunny day and 90°, which would have been too hot if not for some shade. But this being the Pacific Northwest, it could just as easily have been drizzling rain even in August. I personally love hot weather so it was just perfect for me. Mac commented that it seemed cool to the band compared to Atlanta, Georgia, where they are from. We were able to find shade to watch most of the show before Third Day, and by the time they came on stage the sun was starting to go behind some trees. It was a perfect!

So you might be wondering who else is part of this “we” I’ve mentioned. Well, that brings me to the third great thing about this concert. I bought my tickets over a month ago not having any idea who was going to go with me. Several times I posted on Facebook that I was looking for someone to go with me, but no one replied that they could. I had asked several people in the week or so leading up to the concert, but everyone had other plans already. My son said he would go with me if I couldn’t find anyone else, but he was just being nice and didn’t really want to go because he is not a big fan of concerts. (If I didn’t KNOW he was my son, I might wonder at this point, because I love concerts!)

On Saturday morning I had a meeting at church that I had to go to, and I still hadn’t found anyone to go to the concert with me. It started at noon, but I knew Third Day wouldn’t be on until after 5:00 so I figured there was still time. When I got home from my meeting I made a few more calls. I finally got a call back from my friend A, and she said she would love to go and that she just had a couple of things she had to do first.

We finally headed out about 3:30 and arrived at the venue by 4:00. We had lawn chairs because it was an outdoor event with seating on the grass. At one point A asked me if I thought it would be okay if she sat during Third Day’s performance because she has trouble standing for long periods of time. I said I thought that would be fine. In the end, though, she was having so much fun and enjoying the show that she stood up through the whole thing (except the one song where Mac told us all to sit).

As we were leaving the concert, my friend A said that this concert was such a blessing to her and that God had some relevant messages for her in the music. Knowing I had been God’s instrument for her blessing was a great blessing to me, too. On the drive home we both were just beaming with God’s love and hope. I was so happy that God had arranged for her to be the one to accompany me. It reminded me that even when I don’t know what He has planned, it’s going to be something wonderful.

So that’s it for My Tuesday Three. It was a concert of trusting in Jesus, sun shining down, and the blessing of friendship. Who could ask for more?

It was Sunday evening and I still had not written my Music Monday post. Last week was so busy with my trip to Austin I just didn’t have time. The week ahead promises to be very busy as well, though probably not as crazy as last week.

One thing I am looking forward to this week is seeing my favorite Christian band Third Day in concert again. They are playing at Fish Fest in Gresham, Oregon this coming Saturday. I have two tickets and I think my son is going to go with me.

In anticipation of the concert I decided to post a video of one of my favorite songs on their most recent CD. The name of the song is “Trust in Jesus.” I hope you like it.

I heard both of these songs on my iPod this morning when I was getting ready for work and listening to my Christian playlist on shuffle. They are a nice addition to my regular Monday post from this morning.

This first one is a great old song by Johnny Cash called “When He Comes.” I can’t believe I actually found it on YouTube!

This second one is from Third Day’s most recent CD Move, and is called “Trust in Jesus.” It is one of my favorite songs on this CD. As the song says, one of these days we are all going to face our Judgment Day; there is only one way we will survive, and that is to trust in Jesus.